okgirlie...Brandy

Lol, Yep I am a party pooper. :rofl2:

That's how I roll.

I knew it could be scary so I warned the kids. I think that helped.

I just asked the kids what they thought about It's a Bug's Life. They said crazy and weird and yucky. I asked if they were scared and both said, "YES!" They both had a smile on their face, though. They also said they'd go see it again.

Right after Christmas I had to take a break from Voldemort. It was still far away from my trip and I felt like I had read everything there was to read about Disney and the fort. I am also a member of a spin off board from Babycenter. We go through cycles where it's a lot of fun to read and then it gets boring for a while. Right after Christmas a lot of snarkiness (see why I like you) was going on so I spent much of my time reading the drama there.

After a while I went back to Voldemort but it seemed boring. I couldn't put my finger on it but things were different. I also noticed there hadn't been a new TCD trip report and thought that was odd since he seemed to go to the fort quite a bit. By then the spring carnival I was helping to plan was in full force so I didn't really think about it and went on with life. Then in June right before my trip I was like where the heck is everyone at. I knew you all had went somewhere else. We did the same thing when many of our babycenter board members got flushed. When that happend a facebook page was quickly opened so that our members could find us. I figured maybe you all did the same. I found the I love camping at Ft. Wilderness page and liked it. Saw the link posted and made my way over here. So glad to be here.

That's really cool but I feel all woozy from just looking at those pictures.

Brandy, you did a great job on this report! Please do another one even if it's not the Fort.

Natalie looks like a great little camper. The pics at Epcot, her hair was all pretty and neat. When she got back to camp for her B-day gifts, it was messy and crazy! :heart: I always say, nobody cares what you look like at the Fort. Some days I don't get out of my PJ's until noon.

Was the pic of the kids with Pocahontas after she misspelled her name in her autograph? After I read that, then looked at the picture, I cracked up. Natalie is making a face like "Mom, she can't even spell her own name!"

Looking forward to more trip reports in the future!

Thank you! :)

Natalie's hair is a mess 99% of the time. She wants to grow it long to be like Rapunzel, so she refuses to cut it. The problem is she also doesn't like for me to brush it and put it up. I am surprised her hair doesn't look like those fort pictures while we were still at Epcot. She wears me out!

And actually we didn't find out it was spelled wrong until after we gave it to her friend. She just likes to make that silly face. I have a very crazy daughter!

Speaking of that crazy girl, I forgot to mention that about halfway into our trip Natalie picked up a British accent. She talked for days like that. Then as soon as we left Disney to drive home she dropped it. She was all proper like too with phrases like Mummy, may I go over there please? It was the oddest thing. Have ya'll seen that movie with Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler. called Just Go With It? The little girl in it likes to talk in a British accent. That was Natalie!

Great job, Brandy. I really enjoyed your report and pictures. I have a suspicion you will be back to the Fort a lot sooner than you think, you've the bug now :banana:

Thank you! And I do have the bug and hope to get back sooner. :)

We took our kids in there a few years ago and it scared them so bad they cried, screamed and threw all out fits. There was no alternative than take them out. They refuse to go in there to this day. :rofl2:

I think it scared me a bit! I don't blame your kids one bit.

Great report okgirlie! You have a beautiful family... looking forward to more reporting in the future. :)

:bravo:

Thank you both!

What's so scary about bugs? We haven't been yet

Giant scary bug saying he's going to exterminate you. Bug Spray. Hornets attacking. Fun stuff for little kids.

Kenny came and switched out our cart after a couple of days, too. You got the better end of the deal. He gave us a rain cover one but not one with an extended roof. We kept forgetting to put the rain cover down, though. Our second cart was also one of those super fast carts. I had to tell my husband to slow down many times. I think he'd forget that our kids were hanging on for dear life on the back. I am a bit of a carseat freak (as in my 6 year old is still fully harnessed in a seat that goes up to 65lbs) so having them just cruise on the back of the golf cart made me a tiny bit nervous.

Talk about unsupervised kids:

The night before we left when it was raining practically nonstop we had a nice pond form next to our site. There was this big kid (probably 13-14) hanging out in that nasty muddy water. Gross! I am sorry but it's Florida. Who knows what could have crawled into that murky water. I should have taken a picture of him. He was filthy but the water he was wading in was worse.

Well, I said 1500 loop expert.

I mean, how much is there to know?

TCD

True True!

I know all about the comfort station and laundry room. I also know about that little walkway from one side of the loop to the other. Yep, I guess I got it down.

They have one of those Titantic Experiences in Branson. I haven't been there but I hear it's a must do. Maybe next time we go I'll check it out. I love Branson, MO. We stopped in briefly at the end of April but I may just have to plan a return trip. I am betting Pigeon Forge is much like Branson. Outlet Malls, shopping, craft places, tourist traps, Silver Dollar City, etc. I love it.

Dang!

It's over?

I wish there was more.

You did a great job planning your trip, and on this report.

I hope you get back to the Fort before two years.

Until then, though, don't be a stranger.

You can help out newbies when they come along.

You are now a 1500 loop expert!

TCD

Thanks! I'll stick around. I need something to read at night when I am up late and everyone else is sleeping. :) I may even write a trip report or two about the state parks we visit. We are planning to go dig crystals in September. Hopefully, we'll go and it will be interesting enough to write about.

I don't know if one visit makes one an expert but I am glad you seem to think so. :)

Great report!!!!!

:bravo: mom!

You obviously done your homework, you mananged to hit all the "must do's" on your first trip out and wrote a kick butt trip report! Way to go! :highfive:

Well, thank you very much. :) I read the other board for over a year before we came. I am night owl so some nights after the kids went to bed I would stay up reading until 1am or later. I am glad it paid off.

I am playing catch up and wanted to comment before I forget.

I am pro poncho. My son is not. Thank goodness we live in America!

We were pleasantly surprised by Carousel of Progress. We all gave it a thumbs up.

I know those rains well. But I liked the lower temps so I didn't complain.

Our last full day was at Animal Kingdom. It started off great and then the weather took a turn.

But let's start at the beginning. We hopped a bus to Animal Kingdom and made it there right at 9am.

Nate went to get Expedition Everest fastpasses while the kids and I headed over to the safari ride.

We were then able to get fastpasses for the Kali River Rapids. So I ran to do that while Nate waited with the kids at the entrance to exploration trail.

Then we boarded the train and headed over to the conservation area where we met Rafiki, Pocahontas and Jiminy Cricket. We had to meet Pocahontas because my best friend's daughter who happens to be Natalie's best friend absolutely loves Pocahontas. I promised her I would get her autograph. :) The funny thing is Pocahontas left out the H in her name on her autograph. Oh well, my daughter's friend was so happy when she saw it. Natalie also traded one of her pins for a Pocahontas pin and gave it to her friend. I am so glad that my best friend and I can have daughters that are best friends, too.

We met Baloo and King Louie. King Louie fell in love with my daughter. We were the last ones before their break so he spent a few more minutes with her. He kept kissing her and dang it we didn't get one picture of it. I am glad to have enjoyed the moment but it would have been nice to have at least one picture.

We then rode the rapids. It was hot and I had hoped to get wet. How I wished I wouldn't have said that later.

We rode Expedition Everest next. My son, the one that is usually so scared of rides, loved it. I don't know if it was Disney magic or what but he turned a new leaf while we were there. This is the kid that is scared of our tiny roller coaster at our small amusement park here but suddenly loved all the rides he went on at Disney. Yay!

We ate lunch at Flame Tree BBQ. Yum! I am normally not a fan of pulled pork but it was very good.

We decided to head over to Dinoland because Nemo was going to be starting soon. We enjoyed the lovely show and then remember when I said the weather would take a turn and how I wished I wouldn't have said I wanted to get wet?

Yeah, it was pouring when we got out of Nemo. Too bad that I only had our cheap 50 cent ponchos from the dollar store. We got them on and went back to the Flame Tree BBQ eating area to wait it out.

We waited.

We waited.

We waited.

Nate looked at the radar on his phone. It wasn't going to stop.

At least anytime soon.

Even though we didn't get to explore Dinoland we decided to call it a day.

As we were leaving we saw that It's a Bugs Life was about to start and since it was inside we decided to do that.

Um yeah, it was neat but scared the heck out of my kids. Natalie jumped onto Nate's lap and Bryce was practically in mine. They did say they liked it after it was over, though.

We came back out to more rain.

We went back to the fort and started to put the inside of the camper back in order.

The next day the rain had finally stopped. Thank goodness. It wouldn't have been fun to pack up in the rain I made a last minute run to the Meadows Trading Post to pick up a Minnie Mouse pin for my best friend's younger daughter. We couldn't give a pin to C and not give one to M. I walked around the pool one last time and we pulled out at 11:10.

We stopped for lunch before we left Orlando at Giordano's. I had bought a restaurant.com gift certificate to there before we left. We got a stuffed crust hamburger pizza. We had to wait 35 minutes but it was worth the wait. That was some of the best pizza I have ever eaten.

And then the rain came back. We drove through rain most of the day Friday. Thankfully, we had no more rain after that. However, I did come home to 100+ temperatures and that hasn't changed. It's still that hot.

We said we'd come back to the fort in about 3 years but maybe if I start substitute teaching since my youngest will now be in school all day I can make some extra money and get back in 2 years. :) We shall see. I do know that next time we will spend more time at the fort. :)

Too funny. My husband is a Dr. Pepper addict. In fact, I had forgotten to bring him extra DP and then when we went to Walmart we forgot to buy him some so he was having DP withdrawals while at Disney. Mr. Pibb just doesn't cut it.

Good idea about mixing the sodas. Natalie didn't like any of them and there was one that I thought wasn't too bad but I'll stick with my Diet Coke.

I'm just getting caught back up on this report, and I gotta say, you are doing an outstanding job with it!

This is a really cool story you shared about catching up with your friend.

It looks like you have captured all the "magic" during your trip!

Thank you! My friend is one of those rare people that are just so wonderful in everyway. I am very glad I got to see her again.

what a great birthday! I would love to do 11 days at Disney, we generally only get a 7 day trip with 5 days in the park, there just isnt enough time to everything! I found out yesterday that the cut off age for the pirate cruise is 12 years old bummer as my oldest boy just turned 13 and I'd be to nervous to send the other ones off without him, maybe in a few years.. lol

I don't think our next trip will end up being 11 days but you never know. My husband has a job that he can take off many days in a row so it is possible. Don't worry I think your son would have been too old for it. Bryce is 9 and seemed to be almost too old for it. He liked it but I think another year from now he wouldn't have.

Well, I was going to finish this report up, but I had several phone calls and now I am out of time. I go on a weekly lunch date with 5 of my closest friends and their children and it's just about time for that. :)

Looks like a GREAT Birthday!!!

It really was and she's already talking about next year. I have to keep telling her that next year's birthday will be nothing like this years.

and what is wrong with Beverly? :rofl2:

Lol! I was a sport and tried it after my son did. Nasty!

What a great way for a little princess to celebrate her birthday! How wonderful!

She had such a wonderful time. But she's a lucky girl. We celebrated her birthday with her two best friends before we left and the day we got home my parents had bought her a birthday cake so we celebrated again. Lucky girl!

Loving this TR! I am trying to read all the reports and each one has a different perspective. What I love about yours is that so much of this is a first experience. Those pictures have some great memories and magic in them! I really like the one at CP with Tigger rubbing noses with your DD.

Thank you! I love that picture, too. It makes me smile everytime I look at it. :)

I'm glad you talked about the water park. We have been to disney many times, but never to a water park. I may have to look into this!

We liked both water parks, but I think Blizzard Beach won as the kids' favorite because it has a tween area with a zipline and waterslides. We liked the big family ride there, too. But Typhoon Lagoon was just as fun. My son loved snorkeling and all the slides were fun. That new Crush 'n' Gusher was great except my youngest wasn't tall enough to go on it.

Great report

Love your report!

Nice job, cute kids,

Thank you all!

This picture made me truly laugh out loud -- love it. The whole scene is just adorable -- Marie's reaction, and the kids watching. Very cute!

What a great TR. You're inspiring me to work harder at saving our pennies to make it back down there.

Kate

I think I am going to save my pennies, too. We had planned on 3 years but I don't want to wait that long. It would be nice if we could get back in two years. Not sure if that will happen but I am going to go ahead and start saving.

I wish I would have recorded the whole interaction of Marie with baby Marie. It was very cute and Natalie was laughing the whole time. :)

Well, I am a newbie and am about finished with an 11 day trip report and have over 1000 views. You should definitely write a pre-trip report and then finish it when you get back. :)

I am not a good writer, either. What's worse is I used to teach, but I am still bad at it. I decided to not let that stop me and I am so glad I did it. Now I will always remember my trip.

The day has finally come! Natalie's 6th Birthday!

First, we had to wake the princess up.

She had been looking forward to this day for a while because she knew we'd be dining with the princesses. We got up and made our way to Epcot.

I got fastpasses for Soarin and then we made our way over to Test Track. Thankfully, everyone was at Soarin so Test Track was only about a 15 minute wait in stand by.

Side note: Natalie is sound sensitive so I bought her those noise cancelling headphones back in May They are great for her. I am so thankful for them and wish I had bought them a long time ago. She used them a lot at Disney but has used them many times at home, too.

After that we went ahead over to Norway. I was hoping they could seat us early and they did. Natalie had her picture taken with Sleeping Beauty and then we were shown our table. The place was almost empty and as soon as we sat there was a princess parade. Natalie loved walking around with Snow White.

The food was good, but unfortunately I was disappointed with most of the experience.

Natalie had less than a minute with each princess. I could understand if it was busy but there were empty tables all over. I just felt like if we were paying that much money they could have talked to Natalie just a little longer. I was even more disappointed when I talked with someone later that said they had an 8am reservation and had wonderful character interaction.

The good news is that Natalie was thrilled and loved it. And that's all that matters.

They brought her a birthday cupcake. :)

After that it was just about 11am so we waited for the world showcase to open and met Mulan. We actually just watched Mulan for the first time at the beginning of June. Our library plays Disney movies during the summer so we caught it there. I had thought it looked boring but was pleasantly surprised. We enjoyed it very much.

Then we had to go meet Marie the cat. Natalie had gotten a baby Marie for her birthday and wanted to show her to the real Marie.

We explored the countries and even tried to play Kim Possible but we found it boring so we gave up our mission.

My kids liked Japan the best because of Hello Kitty and Pokemon. Natalie got me to buy her a Hello Kitty wallet and coin purse for her birthday and Bryce bought himself some sort of Pokemon stuffed animal thing. I don't know what it is but he seems to like it.

We finally got around to riding Soarin. Then I had heard about the Beverly and thought that maybe Bryce needed a sip. :)

His face says it all.

After that we had to Talk with Crush again and Natalie got chosen to ask him a question! She was so happy about that.

We left Epcot and went back to the fort so Natalie could open her birthday presents. She got exactly what she wanted: Hello Kitty megablocks. She was a happy camper.

We decided to go back to Disney Quest since we only had a short time to check it out the night before. We ate birthday dinner and cupcakes there. I was happy to see the Butterfinger cupcake since I had missed it at Hollywood Studios. Oh my goodness! It was the best cupcake ever. We also got a peanutbutter chocolate cupcake but it wasn't all that good especially when compared with the other.

We then went to play but the lines were long and it just didn't seem worth it to waste our time there.

We thought it would be better if we just went back to the fort and swim. That was a much better idea. :)

We had just one day left before our trip was over. Next up is Animal Kingdom.

Yum! I think I want some food now. :)

I saw a chair with Sooners on the back. I live 15 minutes from the University of Oklahoma. That man maybe from around my area. :)

We did the same Christmas pictures and in fact I've already made our Christmas card for this year with them. :) I had bought a groupon to an online photo place so I just uploaded them and made some cards. :)

I love those camper pictures. :popcorn:

Those pictures are gorgeous!

I meant to tell you earlier but your children are absolutely adorable! :)

I also thought this was going to be a sad report. Glad to see it's not. :):popcorn:

"The next morning we got up and had to leave Disney property again. This time it was because we were going to my most favorite store, Ikea. The nearest one is in Frisco, TX outside of Dallas. It's not too far but we don't get there all that often."

That's my Ikea, too. With all the DFW traffic, it takes me about 90 minutes to get there. It's a fun store.

Did your husband sign up to be the military veteran of the day at the MK Retreat ceremony? If he didn't get a chance, perhaps next trip. He can sign up at the MK Town Hall, just inside the main gate of the left. :usa:

No, I actually didn't know about it until I read about it here through trip reports. Next time I will have him sign up. I bet it would be really special for him if he got chosen.

It takes me about 2 and a half hours to get to Frisco. Not that bad, but Dallas traffic is no fun so we only go about once a year.

Great trip report! I have once again gotten behind on laundry and cooking, or in this case, baking (Black Forest Cake to celebrate finishing our two weeks studying Germany). But it was well worth it. My 4yo loved the pictures and saw many things she wants to do next time she goes. Can't wait to read more!

BTW, TCD is absolutely right about the TR's. I love to go back and read the one I wrote. i also recently found a TR I wrote about our trip to the Outer Banks back in 2003. It really helps bring back the memories!

Sorry about that! The same thing happens to me when I start to read other trip reports. Mmm... black forest cake sounds delicious. I love to bake but it's too hot to do much of it right now. It's been over 100 degrees everyday since the beginning of July with maybe the exception of one day when it rained. I wish I would have taken the time to write out details from other trips. From now on I will do it. :)

Great updates!

I like how y'all became pros at riding the resort boat to the Contemporary to get to the MK early.

It is strange to me that your kids know nothing about the Winnie the Pooh characters. When my kids were young, they had the New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh on the Disney Channel, and they knew all about Pooh and company. I know that Disney has just released a Pooh movie, but it looks like someone there dropped the ball by allowing a whole batch of kids to grow up without being exposed to one of their most profitable franchises.

I'm looking forward to the rest of your report!

TCD

When Bryce was young he was all about The Wiggles. He only watched them until he learned about Lilo and Stitch and Toy Story. Then he rotated through those 3. Natalie loved only Dora from about 18 months through 4 years. My kids are strange where when they get stuck on something they pretty much only like it and nothing else. She's on a Hello Kitty kick right now. I just bought her a Hello Kitty lunch box, back pack and headphones for school. I think we may go see this new Winnie the Pooh movie when it gets over to the dollar theater. My kids are interested in it now that we had breakfast with them.

Great update! You guys always look like you are having so much fun :banana: on your hole in one :banana:

Thanks! We were happy! :) I don't think my kids fought the whole time we were there. Woohoo!